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Candidacy is a time for serious discernment and introduction into community living. A candidate lives in a convent and works in the surrounding community. Prayer and classes are an integral part of a candidate's life.
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When she enters postulancy, she enters more fully into the community and participates in more rigorous studying and praying.
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Once considered a novice, she takes on the same responsibilities as a Carmelite sister. Think of this phase as an "engagement" phase, where those in a relationship prepare for marriage.
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Now she takes her first vows of obedience, poverty, and chastity and is officially integrated into the order (although not yet fully).
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Perpetual vows make her a full member of the order - she is given completely to God and forever to the service of others in the spirit of the order
